The New Riders
by Phoenix1999
Summary: What happened after the events of Inheritance? Where does Eragon go, and what old enemy comes back to haunt the new riders? Disclaimer: I am not Christopher Paolini
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

My story is slightly AU, because I brought back Faolin, and didn't have Murtagh run off. I also refer to the position of the elven ruler as hereditary, and even though I love Arya/Eragon I won't have it in my story at first, but I may add it later. If anyone is curious I would be happy to tell you why I did so, so please don't flame over it because I have valid reasons for making the story a little AU.


	2. The Hatchings

**The New Riders**

The Hatchings

Eragon's P.O.V.

It had been 25 years since I had set foot in Alagaesia. The last days there had been hard for me. I had defeated the king and everything had been perfect until we found Faolin in Galbatorix's dungeons. I knew Arya had never cared for me the minute she saw him. I then left Alagaesia and moved on. I refused to be weak and cry over her. I wouldn't, and I didn't.

Enough about that though. Murtagh came to help me build an outpost 20 years ago and he had decided to help me train Riders as well. We had sent out six eggs, two to the Elves, two to the Humans, one to the Urgals, and one to the Dwarves. The Elves had one purple, female egg, and one ice-blue, male egg. The purple one was Saphira and Firnen's daughter and Saphira was impatient for her to be trained. The Humans had one tan egg and one maroon egg. One egg had been sent to Surda while one was at Ura'baen. The Dwarves had a silver egg and the Urgals had a brown egg.

I was just thinking about who the new riders would be when I heard the thump of dragon's wings. I looked up and smiled at the new Rider, and he smiled back.

Rhia's P.O.V.

I cast a quick illusion spell over Sealon and I, and we carefully crawled over the fence, disabling a few wards as we did so. Then I stood back and let him pick the lock on the door. I knew my parents would be furious, if they knew we were sneaking into the treasury, but something had been delivered their under ridiculously heavy guard a few days ago, and they wouldn't tell me what it was. I was snapped out of my thoughts went my sensitive ears caught a faint clicking sound. I turned and followed Sealon through the door. I took a left as soon as we entered then cast a spell to reveal and open the high security vault. I looked around trying to find something out of place in the familiar room. There. A few magical jewels had been set on a locked shelf looking out of place among the cursed riches, and strange artifacts, but I knew they used to be kept on a few warded pedestals at the back of the room. I smiled, and headed to where the pedestals were. In the jewels place were some odd stones I didn't recognize. I walked towards one and set my hand on it trying to figure out what it wasn't. Then there was a cracking sound and the egg fell off the pedestal breaking in half, I backpedaled, confused and shocked. Then a small purple form climbed out of the wreckage, dragon eggs. Crap.

Arya's P.O.V.

I looked in shock at my daughter as she held the little purple dragon close. My husband Faolin was in a similar state. My daughter, Rhia (Ree-uh), on the other hand looked thrilled and proud. When the egg had hatched the alarm had gone off and my husband and I with a group of guards had run to the treasury only to find my mischief-loving daughter and her partner in crime, Sealon, looking guilty. After we had sent Sealon home and punished Rhia we had been forced to deal with the problem at hand. I had known she was a likely candidate for the egg, but had made a mistake in trying to protect her. I didn't want her to become embroiled in the danger and politics of becoming a Dragon Rider, but now protecting her wasn't an option. She needed training, a training I couldn't give her. I sighed, hating the thought of sending her away.

I asked her "What is the dragon's name going to be?"

"We decided on Amathire (Am-a-thire; thire rhymes with fire) " she said. I nodded and went to tell Firenze about this new surprise.

Valin's P.O.V.

(Vae-lin)

I waited in line with the other kids. We all wanted to touch the Dragon egg. We all wanted it to hatch for us, but as much as I wanted it to I didn't think it would. I was a good enough person and tough, but I knew I was rash, rarely thinking things through. Not to mention my cockiness, a trait that had often gotten me into trouble. It was my turn now; I put my hand on the Dragon egg, and heard a squeak. I stared in shock as cracks spider webbed over the beautiful maroon shell. Then a dragon crawled its way out of the shell. I put my left hand on its head, and then blacked out.

When I woke up I was on a simple bed in a small room. Queen Nasuada herself was at my bedside petting my little dragon.

She smiled at me, and said "What will you name him, boy?"

"Rammis (Ram-iz)" I heard a voice say. I blinked and stared at the dragon, before shaking me heads and informing Queen Nasuada of my dragon's choice. Then she went to introduce me to the cheering crowd outside.

Onaveru's P.O.V.

(Own-ay-vere-oo)

I looked over the crowd trying to catch a glimpse of the egg. It was the first egg that had ever been given to the Urgals. Since I was a male Kull I was tall and had no problem seeing it. The Herndalls had decided that there would be a contest and the better you did the sooner you would get to touch the egg and try for becoming the first Urgal Rider. I had done well and was to have the honor of being one of the first to touch the egg. Soon it was my turn. I put my hand on the egg for a moment or two, but it didn't react. I was walking away when the egg exploded into deadly shrapnel and a brown dragon pounced on me and stuck his muzzle into my left palm. I felt a wave of blackness and almost fainted. I shook my head though clearing the fog then I smiled at the little dragon who was now snuffling around.

"Do you like the name Miermar (My-er-mar)?" I thought.

King Orik's P.O.V.

I looked over at the dragon and its new Rider. The dragon, Haigon (Hay-gone), was now the size of a horse. I had been shocked when my nephew, Erthane (Er-thane; thane rhymes with cane), had become the Dwarf Dragon Rider. He and his silver dragon matched though. They had excelled at all the training we had given them so far and we were sending them to Bromis. (The place where Eragon and Murtagh were going to train new Dragon Riders. Named after Brom and Oromis.) From what I had heard from Eragon, Erthane and Haigon would be the first Dragon and Rider he would train. I spoke with Erthane on plans for the trip for a bit before sending him off to Bromis. He was a good dwarf and was the perfect person to represent the Dwarves as a Rider.

Sealon's P.O.V.

(See-ae-lon)

I looked sadly at Rhia she told me she was going to Bromis in less than a week. I knew I would miss her. We were the only elf children in Ellesmera, and she was my best friend.

I told her I would miss her, but she just laughed and said "You will be so busy getting yourself into trouble you won't even notice I'm gone, besides I'll visit." I just gave her a sad little smile and headed back to my home. I could feel her eyes on my back and knowing her she was probably trying to decide if I really would miss her. She just didn't get how much I relied on her. We had done everything together since the day she was born. To be honest it felt weird to be separated from her in anything. There was still one egg left in Ellesmera though and I decided I _would_ become a Rider.


	3. Arrival

**The New Riders**

Arrival

Erthane's P.O.V.

I smiled down at the other Rider for a moment before asking "Who are you?"

"Eragon Shade-Slayer." he responded.

"Good! I was looking for you. King Orik has told me lots about you." I said

He nodded and said "I guess its time to start training."

Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh, Thorn, Haigon, and I trained for a couple of months before the next Riders arrived. One was a 16 year old Human boy. He had brown hair, and micheivous chocolate colored eyes. He was riding a male maroon dragon. The other new Rider was a gray skinned Urgal. He was a Kull and obviously male. He was riding a large Brown dragon that looked as masculine as his Rider. They were both muscular and rather tough looking. The Human Rider introduced himself as Valin and his dragon as Rammis. the Urgal introduced himself as Onaveru. his dragon's name was Miermar.

We all continued to train, but I could tell Eragon and Murtagh were expecting another Rider soon,because they kept watching the sky when they thought we weren't watching. I told Onaveru and Valin about that and we decided to talk to them about it. We confronted Eragon about it after one of our lessons, but he just frowned darkly and refused to answer. So we decided to try Murtagh instead. When we asked him he said that one of the Elves' eggs had hatched, and that Eragon had some bad history with the new Rider's parents. We tryed to get him to tell us more, but he refused, saying we would find out soon.

Soon we got curious and decided to try guessing what the new Rider would be like. Onaveru said a tough elf with black hair and who the ice-blue dragon had hatched for. Valin thought it would be a smart elf with hair like starlight and was with the purple dragon. I guessed that it would be a brave elf with silver hair and the ice-blue dragon. I am not sure why, but we all thought the new Rider would be male. Not one of us thought it would be a girl, yet sure enough it was.

A week after our little guessing game the new Rider arrived. She had midnight hair, deep purple eyes, pointed ears, and honey-colored skin. She looked just like you would imagine an elf would look. She got off her purple dragon, and looked at each of us in turn.

Then she smiled and said to me "Nal Argetlam." I was surprised she spoke Dwarf, but I gave her the correct greeting in turn. She then nodded to Onaveru and said "Urgralgra." After that she looked at Murtagh and Valin and said in the common tongue "Hail Riders." Finally she looked at Eragon, touched her first two fingers to her lips and said "Atra esterni ono thelduin.'

Eragon replied in the same odd language, "Atra du evarinya ono varda.'

She then responded with "Un atra mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr."

Only after they had finished this ritual did she switch back to the common tongue and say "Hello, my name is Rhia."

**Translations**

Nal, Argetlam-Hail, Silver Hand. (Dwarf Language)

Urgralgra-Urgal (Urgal Language)

Atra esterni ono thelduin-May good fortune rule over you (Ancient Language)

Atra du evarinya ono varda-May the stars watch over you (Ancient Language)

Un atra mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr-And may peace live in your heart (Ancient Language)


	4. Training

**The New Riders**

Training

Rhia's P.O.V.

We had all been training for a month or so, and we all had our own skills. We had also all picked out swords or gone to Rhunon and had her make us one. Onaveru had a huge brown 2-handed sword, Valin had a maroon hand-and-a-half sword, Erthane had a stout silver short-sword, and I had 2 slender purple dual blades. When it came to skills, Onaveru had the most strength and was therefore good at wrestling and those kinds of things, Valin was a natural swordsman and a surprisingly good magician, Erthane was a amazing smith and a good fighter, and I was a good swordsman, and the best archer and magician. I also had the natural strength, speed, and endurance of the Elves.

Erthane was such a good smith that Rhunon decided to teach him how to make Rider's swords. So now we don't have to fly to Ellesmera to pick up new swords. I had also discovered the true name of brightsteel, so now it was easier to find because I could gather it without having to dig it up. The true name was Garjzla-Sverdar (actual meaning of words is light-sword. It was the closest translation I could find).

I was just heading to my morning spar with Murtagh, when Valin walked over and asked me to spar with him. I smirked a bit since he had never seen me fight and probably didn't know that Elves were naturally faster and stronger. I nodded and followed him over to the training area. We both guarded our swords then he got into position and I did the same. He slashed at my head, and I ducked and hit his side. He looked shocked and confused. I allowed myself a smile before launching into a series of blows. I lunged, slashed, ducked, parried, and feinted. I had the distinct advantage do to my speed and strength, but I had to admit he was the better swordsman. If he was an elf he would definitely beat me. I refused to disarm him though. I wanted to see how skilled he really was. Eventually though he got frustrated and lunged at my head. I snapped up my leg and hit his elbow causing him to drop his sword. I then put my two swords against his neck in the shape of an X and smiled. He just shook his head still looking rather confused.

"Elves are faster and stronger then other races because we are so connected to magic." I explained

"You purposely tricked me!" he said looking annoyed. I just smirked and nodded. "Not fair!"

"Life isn't fair. Deal with it." I said smugly and headed towards my magic lesson.

Valin's P.O.V.

I watched as Rhia walked away. She had tricked me. I had had no clue that Elves were naturally like that. I wish I had known more about Elves before I came here. I hadn't known about there magic, strength, speed, endurance, smarts, immortality, beauty... Wait no can't think that she is an elf I am not. I don't even know how old she is. I shook my head to clear these thoughts and walked over towards Onaveru and Erthane. I was shocked when I saw Erthane hand a smiling Onaveru several coins.

"Did you bet on our fight?" I asked frowning.

Onaveru smirked and Erthane said "Yep." I just shook my head and headed towards the dragonkeep to visit Rammis.

Sealon's P.O.V.

I feinted towards the hip of the elf I was fighting. He fell for it and I disarmed him. Ever since I had decided to become a Dragon Rider I had been training every day. It had been decided that the next dragon Rider would be chosen in a week. The Dragon would spend 3 months maturing and then The Rider and Dragon would be sent to Bromis. That meant if all went well i would see Rhia in 13 weeks. I couldn't wait.

Unknown P.O.V.

I looked in the bowl of water and more importantly at the picture within. My brother and I had been hatched 13 years ago and we had decided to find the rest of our race and seek vengeance on our parent's murderers and on the Race that had hated us the most. My brother and I are planning on destroying the Rider and his dragon as well as all those two murderers were working on. Then we would hunt down those all the perfect little sylvan fools. We would destroy all of them and then take over all of Alagaesia. If the Elves fell the other Races would have no chance.


	5. Clues

**The New Riders**

Unknown Clues

Onaveru's P.O.V.

I looked down at the odd scales I had found. They were to soft to be dragon scales although they were about the same size. They were a grayish black and I had found lots of them scattered around the outpost. I wasn't sure what they were, but I did remember seeing them in one of the scrolls in the library. I was pretty sure they weren't important though so i decided not to mention them to anybody. they were probably nothing anyway.

Erthane's P.O.V.

I was at the forge when i noticed something odd. There was a strip of black clothing caught on a nail. i didn't recognize it, but I thought it was probably one of the others. I almost managed to convince myself it was nothing, but part of me still felt worried about it.

Valin's PO.V.

I keep hearing odd sounds at ight. they are kind of like dragon wing beats, but quieter and a little different. They are more of a Thwap sound instead of a Thump sound. I keep thinking what they could be. It could be a overgrown-bat-thing of some sort, or it could be a...hmmm...I don't know what else it could be. Should I be worried?

Sealon's P.O.V.

There were only two days left before i get presented to the Dragon egg. I hadn't stopped practicing the last couple days. I worked on magic, hand-to-hand combat, archery, history, and woodlore. I had also studied dragons a lot. I was determined to become a Rider. There were three important reasons/perks to this plan, I would be with Rhia, It might get Rhia's attention, and it is also a honor to be a Dragon Rider. I would be a Dragon Rider. I would. I would. I would. Right?

Kallis' P.O.V.

I watched the dark form from my alley. He had been stalking me the last week. I don't know who or what he/it was. I also don't know why it is stalking me. I was just a poor urchin from Aberon. Why would the creepy black thing be watching me? Luckily I was good at disapearing. No one has ever found me unless I let them. The thing had no chance I thought, and smirked. Then I turned down the alley, and vanished.

Rhia's P.O.V.

I looked out over the forest from my perch in a tall tree. I loved this forest. I had explored it on my second day. It reminded me of Ellesmera a lot. I was just climbing a tall pine tree when I saw it. "It" was a hollow in the pine tree. A hollow is nothing special, but this one had two bottles in it. I didn't recognize the symbol on it, and i didn't know what it was. I uncorked it and took a whiff of the fumes. I flinched. The liquid inside stank and made my sinuses burn. I poured a drop on the branch I was on, and scrambled back, eyes widening when I saw it burn a hole straight through the branch. I recorked the bottle and put both of them in my pack. I then turned and sprinted back to the outpost. I bet Eragon or Murtagh know what it is I thought, or at least I hope.

**Author's Note**

Have you figured out who the enemy is yet? I think I gave enough clues for most people to figure it out. I'll give you a hint though. Eragon fought them in the 1st and 3rd books, but not the 2nd or 4th. I hope you got it!


	6. Iberus and Nasdor

**The New Riders**

Iberus and Nasdor

Rhia's P.O.V.

I looked down over the trees while the wind blew my hair back. Amathire and I were out on our morning flight. _What troubles you?_ Amathire asked. _I miss Ellesmera, Sealon, and my parents. _I told her. _well I guess I'll just have to distract you _she stated sounding micheivious. I barely had time to say _What!? _before she dived straight down. I felt my stomach leap to my throat as adrenaline clouded my brain. Suddenly I saw a burst of ice-blue fire to my right. I turned and smiled at my best friend. Who was smiling smugly from the back of a ice-blue dragon. I should've known.

Sealon's P.O.V.

I looked down at the sea from Iberus' back. He had hatched for me a couple of months ago, and now we were headed to Bromis. I was very excited. I had always been told that bonding with a dragon was amazing, but I didn't know it was this exceptional. I couldn't wait to be trained in magic and other skills. Rhia had told me about the Riders that were already on Bromis and I was excited to meet them to. I also couldn't wait to see Rhia again. Speaking of Rhia I was shocked when a streak of purple dived out of the clouds in front of me. Iberus shot fire near them just to surprise them. I saw Rhia turn towards me and grin. I smiled back without hesitation.

"Welcome to Bromis, Sealon." she said.

Kallis' P.O.V.

I looked down at the stone I had stolen. I hated stealing, but it was the only way I could earn coins. I wasn't to sure what this stone was though. It was a tan color kind of like sand, so I knew it wasn't a gemstone. I also knew it had to be valuable somehow because it had been in a locked case, in the King's palace. I decided to have it appraised tomorrow, but for now I needed to sleep. I snuck out of the palace to my little alley, and dropped onto my palate. I was sleeping untill I heard a squeaking sound. I looked at the stone and was surprised to see it was shattered. _I didn't know it was hollow_ I thought. _"__Well it was"_ a voice said in my head. I jumped up and found myself face to face with a dragon. _"__Hello Kallis.__"_It said. Oh my gods. I'm a Rider. _"__What is your name?" _I thought._ "I don't know yet, do you have any ideas?"_

Valin's P.O.V.

I slipped the poison ivy carefully under Erthane's pillow. _Be_ _careful not to touch it. _Rammis warned me. _I know, _I said _stop worrying._ I could tell he growled. I finished and thought about what my next prank should be. I never mess with Rhia because she is our smart leader (smart=good revenge), Onaveru is hard to prank because he just doesn't react, and I just pranked Erthane. _I need more victims. _I thought. I heard shouting outside and decided to go see if Murtagh had noticed I had dyed his hair red yet. I went outside and saw three things that caught my attention

1. Murtagh's hair was its normal brown again. _Darn it!_

2. Rhia was looking even more gorgeous than normal.

3. There was a new Rider here.

I noticed the new Rider had blonde hair, hazel eyes, and was an elf. I thought he was okay until Rhia jumped off Amathire and hugged him. I glared at him as the two of them started talking in the ancient language. I could tell Onaveru, Erthane, and I were trying to tell what they were saying, but none of us knew enough of the ancient language to understand.

Eventually Rhia turned back to the common tongue (there is no name for the Human's language in the book). "Sealon, this is Valin, Onaveru, and Erthane. There dragons names are Rammis, Miermar, and Haigon." she said pointing to each of us in turn. He introduced himself and his dragon and then Rhia left to show him to his dorm.

I frowned and stomped up to my dorm. There were 10 dorms not counting Eragon's, Murtagh's, and Arya's. There were 2 buildings with 5 dorms each. One building was for the boys and one was for the girls, with each dorm having 5 rooms. There was a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms. One bedroom was for a dragon. It had a large blanketed hollow in the floor as well as a hole in the wall for flying. There was also a decent supply of food in the dragon bedroom, and a large bath hollow. The Rider's bedrooms on the other hand had a bed, a scrying bowl, a dresser, a table, a small library, and a full-length mirror. There were also stands for our weapons and armour.

I thought about the best way to bother Sealon. I was just considering slipping some nasty potion into his food when my door opened and Rhia walked in.

"Hey Rhia." I said.

"Hey Valin, could you do me a favor and not prank Sealon. He has enough training in combat to turn you into a shish-kebab, and I don't want to have to bother turning you back. K?" she said smirking the tiniest bit.

"I could take him!" I said quite sure I could take that lousy elf.

"Your choice." She said smiling even wider. I don't get why she kept smiling like that though. I have this horrid feeling she is going to get me back for the time I stole her dual swords. (can you blame me she had challenged me to a sparring contest!)

"Brilliant" I said sarcastically to myself and then went to the Potion-Making section of my mini library. _I'll show that lousy elf._ I thought. _Be careful _Rammis warned me.


	7. Revenge

**The New Riders**

Revenge

Valin's P.O.V.

I carefully slipped the potion into Sealon's cup. It was the nastiest mix I could make. It would make him sick as a dog for the rest of the day. It was also spell-proof so he couldn't use a spell to sense it. I turned and headed to his weapon rack. If I had stayed and watched I would have seen Rhia sneak over to the table and swap Sealon's and I's cups.

I replaced his swords with fakes that would shatter after the first blow. After I left Rhia did the same to mine and put Sealon's real swords back on the rack. I went to my favorite patch of poison ivy and picked a bunch to put in his bed. I didn't know that that morning Rhia had replaced the poison ivy with a harmless plant that looks like the ivy. After I filled his bed with the harmless weed she filled mine with a not so harmless batch.

I also buried his clothes in the garden. I have a feeling you know what Rhia did in response to that. Finally I asked Rammis to fill his room with carrion. I don't know how she did it, (but I have a feeling Amathire helped) but she somehow convinced Rammis to fill my room with carrion instead of Sealon's.

After I finished with my pranking (and Rhia with her unpranking and repranking). I went to the breakfast table. I was thirsty so I chugged my water. Suddenly I felt horrible. I was dizzy, nauseous, and I felt very hot. I turned and ran to the bathroom and started retching. When I returned to the table I saw Rhia was smiling and Sealon was looking very confused and not sick at all. I gave Rhia a death glare and headed to the arena for some sword practice.

When I got to the arena I asked Vanir to spar me. he agreed and we got right to business. I slashed at his side, and he blocked it. The odd thing was the moment my sword hit his it shattered. So there I was holding a shattered unshatterable sword.I just shook my head and headed to the dragonkeep. When I got there I discovered Amathire had given Rammis a bunch of sheep. Which meant he had a bunch of wool stuck in his teeth. I helped him get it out, and headed to my dorm to change out of my now disgusting clothes.

When I got there I threw open my dresser only to discover it was empty. I was confused and searched my whole dorm for my clothes. I was tired and (stupid as I was) I hopped into my bed to take a nap. when I woke up I was covered in a itchy red rash. I screamed and ran to Rhia's dorm. When I got there I saw Rhia and Sealon studying. Rhia burst into laughter when she saw me. Sealon just looked confused untill Rhia whispered something to him. He smirked at me and Rhia told me to not to mess with her swords next time.

I went back to my dorm and removed the poison ivy from my bed. I then tried to go back to bed, but I still felt sick. My last thought before I fell asleep was _Lousy way-to-pretty-for-her-own-good elf._

Sealon's P.O.V.

After Rhia and I stopped giggling we returned to studying. We were trying to figure out what the bottles Rhia had found contained. We had shown them to Eragon, but he had just looked worried and not said anything.

"Hey I got something." she said out of the blue.

"What?" I asked.

"Apparently seithr oil can do this if it is enchanted and a bunch of other stuff." she explained

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yeah the only people who commonly use it though are the-" She was cut off when the alarm went off. We looked at each other for a split second and then ran to get ready for battle. I slipped on my dark grey and blue plate-body armor while Rhia grabbed her silver and purple chainmail. We then grabbed our swords (and bows and such), and ran out to where the alarms were coming from. What I saw chilled my blood. Ra'zac

Rhia's P.O.V.

There was a small army of Ra'zac readying for battle outside the outpost. I would guess 100 or so. They were tough to fight, but I had a idea on what I could do. The Ra'zac hate Elves, but they also fear them. They always fight Elves if they have equal or better numbers, but run if outnumbered. I sat down and focused.

"Garjzla, iet tauthr." I muttered under my breath. I created a hologram of a thousand fully armed elf warriors, and I made sure the Ra'zac didn't see them wink into existence. I then raised my sword and charged at the Ra'zac with a thousand 'warriors' behind me. The minute they saw us they froze, turned, and hopped on their lethrblaka.

I smiled and turned to look at my shocked friends. Score 1 for magic.

Unknown P.O.V.

"You idiots!" I exclaimed. "That was just an illusion. I told you there were few people there. I said there were no armies. You should have believed me!" I said and then ran a sword through both of them. Next time I will not let them get away, and I will have my revenge on the Elf Princess. No one tricks me, and lives to tell about it. I will capture the Riders and force them to swear fealty to me. Then I will have them destroy the other races. One by one.


	8. Princess

**The New Riders**

Princess

Valin's P.O.V.

"Score one for magic." Rhia says with a smile that takes my breath away. Suddenly I heard a roar in the distance. A huge green dragon was flying towards the outpost _fast. _Erthane, Onaveru, and I all pull out our weapons. Rhia raises her eyes at us in a what-are-you-doing look. The dragon lands and a elf women jumped off looking terrified. I realized the woman must be Queen Arya. As soon as Queen Arya saw Rhia she immediately seemed to calm down. She smiled and gave her a huge hug.

"Uh why did Queen Arya just hug you?" I asked. Onaveru and Erthane looked like they were confused too, butSealon stiffened, and looked slightly worried when I said that. Eragon and Murtagh looked amused, while Arya was confused like what-do-you-mean-isn't-it-obvious. Rhia on the other hand looked a little embarrassed, but a modest kind of embarassed.

"I think I can hug my daughter." Arya said coldly. She probably thought I was insulting her parenting skills or something.

"If she's your mom doesn't that mean you're a princess?" Erthane said sounding shocked. _Oh-my-gods-she-is-a-princess-why-didn't-she-tell-me!? She-is-a-stinking-princess!_

As if she read my thoughts she said "I didn't want you guys to treat me special or anything. I may be a princess, but that doesn't make me better or anything."

"I was worried about you there have been rumors that the shadow elves have returned to Alagaesia, and then I saw you trick them. I was worried about you. I am sad to hear the skoliro-fra-garjzla have returned." Arya said.

"What the heck our shadow elves?" I asked.

Rhia sighed and started to explain "Have you heard of the grey elves?" we nodded. "Well it was maybe a hundred years after that. Humans hadn't arrived in Alagaesia yet. Anyway Elves started spreading all over the place some went to the sea, some stayed in the forest, and some...well some went to the volcanoes. They started changing. They started eating meat, they changed their appearance to a twisted black form with bird beaks, and they gave up most magic. The other Elves spurned them. We found them ugly, evil, and revolting. They decided to seek vengeance. They gave themselves poisonous breath, and then they decided to become magic's worst nightmare. They cast a spell that destroyed their minds, and they mocked the dragons by being born from eggs and turning into dragon-like-creatures, lethrblaka. The Elves fought them for years and eventually they drove them out of Alagaesia. They vanished from our records then, but it turned out they went to the human's homeland. That's why the Humans fled here, and when the Humans came here the some of the Ra'zac followed them. We attempted to destroy them and they tried to destroy us. When the Riders were instituted they helped us Elves defeat them. Eventually only two Ra'zac and two Lethrblaka were left. Then Eragon destroyed them, but no one ever found their eggs. Now all the Ra'zacs are back." She finished.

"Those things were Elves?" Erthane asked.

"Yes" Rhia answered back sharply, and Arya and Sealon stiffened. It was obviously a bad subject for Elves.

"That's...horrible." I said. It seemed odd to me that those horrible demons had once been Elves. Rhia just nodded and went to speak with her mother.

Sealon nodded to them in respect and said "Drotting, Drottingu." The rest of us said our goodbyes and headed to bed.

**Translations**

Drotting-Queen

Drotingu-Princess

skolireo fra garjzla-shielded from light


	9. Thief

**The New Riders**

Thief

King Orrin's P.O.V.

"What?" I said sounding a little panicked. "That case was magically sealed. Who could have stolen the dragon egg?"

"I don't know, sir." the guard said.

Suddenly the door slammed open, and three guards walked in. Two were dragging a struggling young girl between them and the other was holding a tan colored dragon. I stared in shock.

"This girl and her dragon ran into us outside the market. She stole the dragon egg. What are we going to do sir?" Sayor (Sae-ore), the chief guard, said.

"Send her to Bromis of course." I replied.

"You aren't going to punish her sir?" Sayor said confused.

"Of course not. It is a good thing she stole it. The egg may not have hatched otherwise. Now what is your name and what is your dragon's name?" I said.

"My name is Kallis and my dragon's name is Nasdor." she said warily.

"Well you will stay at the castle for now and in three months we will send you to Bromis to be trained." I said proudly. "You will represent Surda as a Rider."

"but, I'm just a thief I can't be a Rider." She said sounding ashamed.

"That is the dragon's choice, and Dragons never choose wrong." I said and winked.

She hesitantly smiled, and nodded

Kallis' P.O.V.

I looked out at the small crowd gathered around me. There were a group of boys a brown-haired human, a blonde elf, a young dwarf, a Kull, and a single girl a gorgeous midnight haired elf. there were also 5 dragons in various colors.

The black haired elf was the first one to respond. "Welcome to Bromis. What's your name, and what is your dragon's name?" she said.

"My name is Kallis, this is Nasdor, and what are your guys' names? I asked.

She introduced everyone and Valin showed me to the dorms. We, made small talk as we went. I found out he was from Ura'baen, a son of some minor Lord there, and that he had a huge crush on Rhia. _Darn it_ I thought _he is cute._

The next day Rhia showed up in the morning to show me to my classes. She was nice and by the end of the day we were close friends. She explained about her revenge on Valin and I cracked up. Soon we were both plotting ways to mess with the boys. We made a great team. She was clever and knew the boys well and I was stealthy. _Those boys are so dead meat _I thought, and smirked.


	10. Ura'baen

**The New Riders**

Travel

Sealon's P.O.V

"Alright class, Eragon has decided that you guys are going to visit the various capitols around Alagaesia and spend time in each. That way you can better understand the different races. Eragon will be staying here, but I will be coming with. Class dismissed." Murtagh said and we all left the sword arena to head to the library to talk.

"I can't wait to see Ellesmera again." Rhia said to Kallis.

"I know what you mean. I love Aberon." she said back to Rhia

"Ura'baen is better!" Valin said interrupting them.

"How would you know? You've never seen Ellesmera." I pointed out.

"I think the Urgal capital Garterra is the best." Onaveru said.

"Tronjheim is definitely the best, after all nothing is prettier then Isidar Mithrim." Erthane argued.

"How about we decide after we have seen all of them." Rhia said, and we all agreed.

We all headed to our dorms to pack for the trip and Eragon told us what the schedule was. We would visit each capitol for a month starting in Ura'baen. Then we will go to Ellesmera, Garterra, Aberon, and finally Tronjheim. I hopped on Iberus and we all headed out.

When we arrived at Ura'baen we changed into proper clothes and headed to a court meeting

Valin's P.O.V.

I slipped on a maroon tunic and some simple brown leggings. When I came out I saw Rhia wearing a purple dress, Kallis wearing a tan dress, and the boys wearing tunics in their dragon's color with brown leggings. We all looked proper although I pointed out that Rhia should wear her tiara. I was a little surprised that everyone expected me to help Rhia led the group here, but it made sense since I was the only one who had dealt with politics here in Ura'baen.

When we walked in everyone was staring at us. I could tell they respected us probably for our strength and position. I also noticed they seemed to look down at us. I would guess that was because we didn't live in the lap of luxury and we actually did things.

They seemed to change their minds when Rhia walked in though. They could all see the silver tiara on her head and they knew that meant she was the elf princess.

We walked up to Queen Nasuada and greeted her. She then had us introduce ourselves to the court.

"Valin of Ura'baen, son of Lord Gotapra (Goe-tay-pruh)." I said

"I am Kallis of Aberon." Kallis stated.

"Erthane of Tronjheim, nephew of King Orik." he said.

"Onaveru of Garterra." Onaveru spat out. I could understand his anger though; almost all of the Lords and Ladies had their noses wrinkled in disgust at 'the Urgal'.

"I'm Sealon, son of Lord Fiolr, of the House Valtharos." Sealon said calmly.

"I am Princess Rhia of Ellesmera, daughter of Queen Arya and King Faolin." Rhia said and I could see a flicker of honest respect in the eyes of the court.

We all sat in a row at the back of the room as the court discussed various matters. Suddenly I saw Rhia cock her head as a weird look crossed over her face.

Then her eyes widened, she stood up, looked at us, and said "attack."

Our eyes widened and we all ran to change into our armour before heading out on to the balcony of the palace. Sure enough there were 50 or so Ra'zac headed towards us. Rhia, Sealon, and Kallis pulled out their bows and started to shoot them down. Onaveru, Erthane, and I on the other hand used magic. We had killed about 30 of them when the rest landed in the market. We all turned and ran towards them. Onaveru, Sealon, and Rhia easily outstripped the rest of us and soon we all engaged the enemy. Rhia and Sealon were doing well but the rest of us were having trouble do to the Ra'zac's elven physical abilities.

Soon Erthane, Onaveru, and Kallis were disarmed and tied up. I was floundering and would have been defeated, but Sealon and Rhia with determined looks on there faces started a spell. I wasn't sure what it was but I could tell it was very deadly. Even the Ra'zacs looked worried and some tried running away. When they finished the spell all the Ra'zacs died some with their necks broken, some with holes in their heads or hearts, and some for reasons I couldn't tell. I would've kept looking at the Ra'zac, but then the two elves collapsed. Our dragons arrived just then (they had been a few miles from the city so they didn't freak out the citizens.) and I took some energy from them and transferred it to the two elves. It felt like hours though it was probably only seconds when they finally woke up.

I breathed a sigh of relief and went to untie the others. When we were all untied and healed we headed back towards the palace. The whole court was waiting for us with identical looks of shock on their faces. We explained what had happened and then went to our rooms to rest.

The rest of our time in Ura'baen passed smoothly although we were all acting rather paranoid, after a month we set out for Ellesmera.


	11. Trouble

**The New Riders**

Trouble

Rhia's P.O.V.

We decided to make a stop in Osilon on our way to Ellesmera. We landed in a clearing a mile or so away from Osilon. We walked towards Osilon, but I felt uneasy. I couldn't tell why I just knew something was wrong.

When we got closer I realized what was wrong. We should have been able to hear something but all I could hear were the songs of the forest. I gasped and my eyes widened before narrowing into rage filled slits. The city was empty and destroyed. The trees had been lit on fire and were now smoldering lumps. Here and there I saw dead bodies littering the ground. I stepped forward ready to annihilate whoever had done this.

Then I heard my mother say "It's no use Rhia they are gone." I turned to see her and my father standing nearby looking as angry as I was.

"Who?" was all I said but she knew what I meant.

"Shadow Elves." she answered.

"I'm going to destroy them." I said. She nodded like she knew I was going to say that.

Along with my parents we all traveled to Ellesmera. After Gilderion the Wise allowed us to pass. I looked out over the city I had always loved. It looked like it always did with tree houses, Elves, and gardens. There were a few important differences though. When we arrived we saw the entire Elf nation was gearing up for war. The Elves we saw hurried to their destinations with serious looks on their faces, while before they would stop to sing to the plants or speak to their friends. Instead of the peaceful sounds of the forest all we could here were shouts and the sound of hammers. We helped them prepare for the coming battles for the rest of the month, and then left.

Towards the end of it my mother called us in and asked us to tell the other leaders when we saw them. She said not to worry about Nasuada though. She had an enchanted mirror that connected to hers so she would tell her. We agreed and headed off to meet the Herndalls in Garterra.

Onaveru's P.O.V.

Garterra was the biggest city in the Urgal Empire. It was situated in the Hadarac desert. It had high wood walls and on the inside it had lots of traditional longhouses arranged in a grid. The longhouses were made of bark and branches and had namna over the door. The only building in Garterra that wasn't a longhouse was the Secalasu (sec-uh-lay-sue). The Secalasu was round and about three stories tall. The Herndalls lived and had their meetings in the Secalasu.

When we arrived in Garterra I was shocked to see the dirty looks people were giving us. You would think we had done something wrong or something. We just kept walking towards the Secalasu but it made me uneasy.

When we got to the Secalasu we explained the Ra'zac situation to the chief Herndall, Gedhutoke (Ged-oo-toke; ged is like head) and she explained why the citizens of Garterra were upset.

"The peace treaties are still rather unstable especially between the Humans and us. They still looked down upon us in Ura'baen as well as the other political capitals of the Empire (Valin looked rather uncomfortable when she said this after all he is part of the politics in the Empire). In the original country of Surda it is better since we fought alongside many of the people there but the newer part of Surda has no respect for us at all. The elves, dwarves, and werecats have accepted peace though so we at least have their support. We were hoping you could help negotiate or come up with a way to gain the Humans trust." she said.

"We should have a meeting." Rhia said "We will need six bowls of water and you should gather the other Herndalls." Gedhutoke nodded and hurried off while I led the others to the meeting chamber on the top floor.


End file.
